New Game?
by he-who-exists
Summary: Mary finds some new playmates, and some old ones come back - without any memory of what took place, that is. When it's time to play a new game, does Mary finally have a chance of winning? Or is she doomed to stay in Guertena's gallery? Warning! Contains OC's and mild slash.
1. New Game?

_Author's_ _Note: _Ib and its characters belong to kouri. I own nothing but this fanfic. I would like to apologize in advance for any mistakes regarding the names of Guertena's pieces; I'm simply recalling the names. I would also like to apologize for any mistakes in grammar and/or spelling.  
_This story_ _contains: _original characters, swearing and slight slash.

* * *

**Ch: 1**

_New Game_

* * *

"Why are we here again?"

Light blue eyes narrowed at the painting - "**A Well-Meaning Hell**".

The painting was, strange, to say the least. Actually, the exhibit was a whole new world of weird. Many have told the headmistress' son that he had strange taste, and this Guertena had strange tastes as well, so people (_i.e., his idiot of a mother_) had thought that he would actually enjoy this trip. But then, Elias wasn't really a boy of culture; the paintings were too "_deep_" for him to comprehend.

The black-haired boy had no intention of comprehending Guertena's works though. Not unless there was any fun in doing so; intellectual pursuits weren't his idea of fun.

"Because your mother finally got someplace decent for the school to have a field trip."

Dark green eyes glared down at the shorter student, with Elias giving a half-hearted shrug.

"I thought the trip last year was fun though."

"The school literally broke into someone's property and proceeded to explore a decrepit mansion that would've probably collapsed at the slightest touch."

"But it didn't."

"I'm sure it was illegal."

"Ah! We didn't get caught though, so no worries."

"Idiot," Kendrick rolled his eyes before looking back at the painting. The brown-haired boy continued scrutinizing the painting. Guertena was a genius, and Kendrick wished he was had a chance to meet the man.

"Hey, let's look at that one instead," Elias proclaimed in the midst of Kendrick's deep thinking. The shorter boy then began to drag his friend towards another display. A large painting on the floor called "**Abyss of the Deep**".

"It looks freaky, doesn't it? It'd be awesome if the fish just suddenly jumped out," Elias exclaimed, ignoring the reprimanding glares from the other visitors.

"Keep your voice down, moron," Kendrick pulled his friend's head down, pressing his index finger against the boy's lips. He didn't notice how his friend flushed slightly at the contact before nodding. The taller boy sighed before letting go of his friend and turning his attention back to the display.

"But, I guess it would be interesting if it did get out of the painting," Kendrick added as an afterthought, chuckling to himself as he saw his friend nod eagerly.

"I heard there were more upstairs, want to look?" Elias nodded again, following his classmate upstairs to the second floor, crossing his fingers and hoping for more interesting displays like "**Abyss of the Deep**".

Once they made their way to the second floor, the shorter boy's attention was attracted by three headless mannequins.

"It's called.. "**Death of the Individual**". "

"Looks creepy," Kendrick nodded in agreement before examining the mannequins closer. Each mannequin wore the same dress, with each dress being of a different color - red, blue and yellow. Before he could analyze the piece further, Elias dragged him away towards the other displays.

* * *

"**Worry**"

_"I don't get it, it's just an eye on a red background."_

_"It's an artist-thing, so of course you wouldn't understand."_

_"I doubt you understand it either!"_

**"Lady in Red"**

_"She looks nice."_

_"I don't know, I kind of think she looks creepy."_

**"Taste-Cleaning Tree"**

_"It looks edible"_

_"Even if it were, I doubt people would be allowed to eat a deceased man's works."_

**"Fusion"**

_"Ha-ha, now this piece is awesome!"_

_"I figured you would like the stranger works."_

_"What does that mean?"_

**"Fabricated World"**

"This is one huge painting, I mean - it takes up almost the entire hall!" Elias yelled in awe, shrinking down a bit when he saw Kendrick's reprimanding glare.

"This is a museum, so you should keep quiet," Kendrick chided his friend, with Elias nodding weakly in defeat.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm sorry."

"Good, now let's get back down before the rest of the class leaves," Kendrick sighed before grabbing Elias' arm.

As they were about to walk away, the lights started to flicker on and off. The two students froze until the lights finally started working again.

"That was weird," Elias mumbled offhandedly as they made their way downstairs.

* * *

"Did the entire gallery just bail on us?" Elias wondered aloud as the two finally made their way into the now-deserted first floor.

"Probably," Kendrick sighed before leading his friend back to the lobby. All of the lights had went out once they made it into the lobby.

"Maybe they just decided to close down early," the brown-haired boy said before reaching for the entrance's handle to leave the museum. He continued twisting the knob, starting to get aggravated as it wouldn't budge. 'Idiot! It's locked from outside,' he thought before giving the door a kick.

"Maybe we can try the windows?" Elias suggested, walking over to one of the windows by the counters. He tapped the glass, hoping to catch the attention of anyone outside. To his surprise, a red liquid started seeping from the top of the window.

"Dude, what the hell?" Elias shouted, scrambling backwards until he hit the opposite wall.

"I honestly don't want to know. Come on, let's look for a fire exit or something," Kendrick helped Elias up before dragging his friend back up to the second floor.

* * *

A shadow moved past the window, catching Kendrick's attention. He let go of Elias' hand and backtracked to check if anyone was there. Pressing his face against the glass, and catching sight of no one, the boy sighed before walking back to his now even more confused friend.

"What was that ab-" The sound of someone banging against the glass interrupted the shorter boy's sentence. Both students looked at each other before walking back towards the window only to spot a fresh hand print on the glass.

"Wait... aren't we on the second floor...?"

"Never mind that, let's keep moving!" Kendrick took firm hold of Elias' hand again and the two continued walking around.

After a few minutes, the sound of something splattering on the ground caught their attention. The two boys looked back to see a piece of squashed fruit in front of a painting - "**Bitter Fruit**".

"This is getting creepy," the brunet mumbled to himself before tugging at his friend's arm again and dragging him forward.

This time, the sound of a feline's meow broke the eerie silence. Elias looked back to see another painting, one of a cat - "**Your Dark Figure**".

"Are the paintings..."

"Don't finish that line of thought. We are not in some creepy horror movie," Kendrick yelled, not noticing how Elias shrank back at his raised tone of voice. He also missed the hushed sorry that passed by the boy's lips.

* * *

"Something's leaking from it," Elias pointed out as the two passed by the "**Fabricated World**" painting again. The boys approached the blue liquid dripping from the painting, Kendrick reaching out to touch the strange liquid.

"Paint?" Kendrick raised his eyebrow at this. Why would fresh paint be leaking out of such an old painting? Before he could ponder any further, his friend's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Uh.. Ken, come look at this," Elias tugged at his arm; Kendrick turned his attention to where Elias was pointing.

In bright red, several letters were stamped on the floor.

**_"c o m e"_**

"This is getting disturbing. Let's just break a window and get out of here," Elias made a move to grab Kendrick's arm and drag him downstairs, but stopped as soon as he noticed the blue liquid start to move.

"El?" Said boy only pointed to the blue liquid. Kendrick turned his attention back to the liquid, squinting his eyes to make out the new writing.

**_"come down below, i'll show you guys a special place!"_**

"Should we?" Elias asked.

"Are you seriously considering listening to some creepy leakage?" Kendrick raised his brow and Elias only shrugged.

"It's worth a shot. And if nothing happens, we can always go with breaking a window," Elias answered, walking towards the stair, not giving Kendrick any chance to protest. He only sighed before following after the headmistress' son.

* * *

"So, where exactly is this special place?" Kendrick asked, rolling his eyes as he followed Elias; the shorter boy had been silent the entire walk, and honestly, it was unsettling. The whole situation was nerve-wracking in itself, but to have to normally cheerful boy this quiet only made it worse.

Kendrick was too deep in thought to notice that Elias had stopped, he bumped into the smaller boy.

"I'm guessing the special place is down there," Elias pointed at the now open display of "**Abyss of the Deep**". A trail of blue footsteps led down into the painting.

"Well then, time to jump in," Kendrick reached and grabbed Elias' arm, pulling him back before he made a step into the painting.

"Ken?" Elias looked up at his friend, confused. "I thought you wanted to get out?"

"I don't think this is a good idea."

"Me too."

"Then why jump in?"

"I don't think we have any other choice," and without warning, Elias jumped down the painting, pulling Kendrick with him.

* * *

To be continued.


	2. Continue?

_Author's_ _Note: _Ib and its characters belong to kouri. I own nothing but this fanfic. I would like to apologize in advance for any mistakes regarding the names of Guertena's pieces; I'm simply recalling the names. I would also like to apologize for any mistakes in grammar and/or spelling.

I also apologize in advance if this chapter seems confusing. I will be re-writing everything when the story is finished, so that it may be more coherent.

_This story_ _contains: _original characters, swearing and slight slash.

* * *

**Ch: 2**

Continue

* * *

Three years.

It's been three years since Ib had last visited the gallery; three years since the Guertena Exhibit. Three years since the museum had decided to showcase the man's works again. And in the span of those three years, Ib found no one else's works to be interesting; this is the fourth time she had decided to step into the museum (the second and third were rather disappointing, and the first was mostly lapses in her memory). In the pit of her stomach, she had this strange wish for it to be her last. Yet, that desire to stay away, had also called to her. Like something was left unfinished.

She remembers her first trip to the museum, her first time laying eyes on Guertena's works. She barely understood any of the names, let alone what the work stood for. But she was captivated nonetheless; the bright colors, the peculiar shapes. It was all very interesting for a child of nine at the time. She had lost the silk handkerchief her mother had given her (and specifically told her to take good care of), and up til today she has no idea what she was doing prior to misplacing it. Her mother had scolded it for hours once she'd found out.

Maybe that was why she was here again. Maybe she'd find it today.

And after she finds it, maybe she'd never have to step foot into Guertena's world anymore.

* * *

Ib.

That strange name was sewn onto the handkerchief in his coat pocket. He'd been holding onto the piece of silk for five years now. He doesn't really understand why.

Gary first found the piece of cloth in his coat pocket five years back, after a visit to the Guertena Exhibit. The entire visit itself was unsettling; he had holes in his memory regarding what he had done the entire time. He was rather surprised though, that once he came home (after buying macaroons for god knows why) he found the handkerchief in his coat pocket. Soaked in blood.

Needless to say, he had indeed screamed like the woman many of his peers had assumed he was.

He can't exactly answer why he's back in the museum, standing in line to visit that same exhibit that had haunted him for months. Plaguing him with nightmares of blue dolls and mad women half-crawling out of paintings.

What sane man would return to the place which instigated rather sleepless nights?

Gary shook his head, deciding that he was far from being this sane man he once thought he was. His hand finds its way back in his coat pocket, gripping the handkerchief.

Maybe he'd find this Ib person and manage to return it. Maybe once he did, he'd be rid of those nightmares for good.

Gary could only hope.

* * *

One thing was immediately apparent to Ib, there was a field trip currently taking place. Why else would several people donning similar clothes come to a museum? (The chances of it being a coincidence was far beyond unlikely; Ib would laugh if it was all a coincidence.)

Another thing Ib noticed, was how strangely rowdy these students were. She was certain they were older, if the deeper voices and more developed bodies were any indication. So by all means, they should be quiet and cultured and not giving twelve year old children headaches!

Two of the students stood out horribly though. They looked normal enough, but the shorter one was loud. He kept pointing at the larger pieces, exclaiming in amazement while dragging his friend around.

"...freaky ...amazing if ... jumped out!" Ib chose that moment to head upstairs and hopefully find some quiet.

* * *

The first piece that Gary had approached was a sculpture. A giant, bright, red rose being held up by delicate-looking vines.

**"Embodiment of Spirit"**

Something had drawn the purple-haired man to it; a strange mixture of melancholy and peace.

He was woken up from his reverie by a voice insisting their friend accompany them upstairs. Seeing nothing more to do here, asides from brood in a corner in front of a rose sculpture - which would probably send a weird message to onlookers - Gary decided to follow their lead and head upstairs himself.

* * *

**"The Hanging Man"**

Ib stood in front of the painting, quietly scrutinizing the piece as best as a twelve year-old could do. Thankfully, it wasn't an actual man hanging from the gallows. That would have just been morbid.

She soon felt the presence of another person standing beside her, observing the same painting. Looking up, she saw a tall man with strange purple hair. His clothes were rather strange too, wearing a coat that looked like it belonged to a hobo; the thing was in tatters!

Shaking her head, realizing that she was staring (and her mother had thought her that staring was rude), Ib turned her attention back to the painting.

She scrunched her nose a bit as she felt a sneeze coming through. As soon as the inhalation started, a white handkerchief was immediately presented in front of her. Taking it quickly with no questions, Ib covered her mouth as the sneeze finally came.

"Thank you," she uttered quietly before handing the handkerchief back to the man. The man reached out for it, and as soon as his skin made contact with the silk, the lights went out.

But that didn't matter for either parties, what mattered was simply the exchanging of their names.

"Ib?"

"Gary?"

When the lights returned, so did their memories.

This was also the time when the Hanging Man swung out of the painting, grabbing hold of both Ib and Gary, pulling them inside the painting back with him.

* * *

_When traumatizing events take place, people have a tendency to forget._

_This is brought about by their desire for such events to have never happened._

_They forget, to feel safe._

_But even then, the damage has already been dealt._

_And even if most of the wounds had healed, the scars will be prominent enough of a reminder._

* * *

It was strange, and came in rather a blur of events too.

Ib was there, shaking him awake. They'd been dropped into an empty room; and of course the memories of this room was rather.. unsettling. So when Gary finally came to, he grabbed Ib's hand and quickly left the room.

As he'd expected, it was the same space. Telling Ib to stay back a bit, he walked towards the left side of the room, carefully looking around the corner.

And of course, there it was, displayed in all its prominent and terror inducing beauty.

**"The Lady in Blue"**

Gary quickly turned back to Ib, and gestured for her to follow him towards to opposite side of the room. There, two tables lay. Both with vases, one with a blue rose. In between the two vases were two placards. Knowing fully well what those already denoted, Gary quickly took the blue rose and dipped it in the water of the second vase. He already felt himself recovering.

He turned his concerns back to Ib, who was still slightly injured from their strange fall. Of course, the solution was simple enough, if they still had enough energy to avoid anymore vengeful pieces of artwork.

"Ib, we need to find your rose," the small girl only nodded before the two made their way out of the room. As they closed the door behind them, the sound of glass breaking from inside the room made itself prominent. Then the sounds of something being quickly dragged on the floor, and finally the sounds of something clawing its way through the door.

At that, both had effectively chosen to back away from said door.

"Which way did you come in from before?" Gary asked, and Ib pointed to the door in front of a blue vase and a painting of it. Ib had already walked ahead and was turning the door knob.

"It won't open," she had concluded yet continued with her attempts at opening it.

It meant only one thing, they had to wait here until someone opened the door from the other side. Both had considerably paled after coming to the same conclusion. Because said conclusion only led to either of two other conclusions.

One, is that a psychotic little blonde girl is probably in the other room, already making her way to Ib's rose in order to finish her off first. Then she would come back and kill Gary.

Or two, is that there was someone else trapped with them in the pseudo-gallery.

The realization that someone else had been dragged into this dangerous predicament was frightening; even more so than the first of the possible conclusions.

Ib and Gary had to hurry, unless they want someone losing their life.

* * *

To be continued.


End file.
